Episode 03
Awakening
“Wow! It’s a Shiba Inu!”
“Let’s chase it! Shiba!”
Up until he started his part-time job, Seongjun had thought today would be his lucky day.
But the moment he arrived near the Gate wearing the costume, he realized just how wrong he had been.
He had assumed it would be simple—just wear the suit, deliver the cake, and leave.
Instead…
He was being swarmed by children who seemed equally likely to be shouting insults or just excitedly yelling the breed of the dog costume.
“Shiba! Do the ‘shiba’ thing, Shiba!”
Are they excited about the dog… or do they just want an excuse to yell ‘shiba’?
He did feel a slight urge to play along, but a cake wasn’t something you could casually carry while being mobbed.
Carefully pushing through the crowd of children, Seongjun made his way toward the Gate.
Security personnel stood guard nearby, strictly preventing unauthorized access.
“I’m sorry, but even staff members are not allowed inside the Gate.”
Members of the DDA (Division of the Dimensional Agency) blocked his path.
Seongjun lowered his costume headpiece and spoke.
“Delivery.”
“Inside the Gate?”
“I have clearance.”
He pulled out his Awakened Registration Card.
The guard examined it with interest, then pointed at him in recognition.
“Ah! The Awakened who specializes in Gate deliveries!”
“That’s me.”
“If you’re an Awakened, why not hunt monsters instead?”
‘I’d love to… if I could.’
Seongjun simply smiled and extended his hand.
After returning the card, the guard answered his question.
“Is it dangerous inside?”
“Not at all. It’s actually the final day.”
Final day.
The monsters inside had already been cleared.
Now only the boss remained.
“Everyone inside right now is at least B-rank.”
Seongjun nodded.
So this wasn’t just a birthday party—
It was also a celebration of a successful raid.
Still, that didn’t matter to him.
All he needed to do was deliver the food and collect his magic stones.
But despite his calm exterior, his heart beat a little faster.
If they’re all high-rank Awakened… maybe I’ll get extra rewards.
As if answering his expectations…
He found it.
Deep inside the Gate—
Uncollected magic stones, still inside the corpses of low-level monsters.
***
“Jackpot! This is a week’s worth of earnings in one go!”
Humming happily, Seongjun searched through the cave, collecting magic stones.
But just as he reached for another corpse—
His hand froze midair.
Blood…?
Not monster blood.
He knew that smell too well.
This—
Was different.
Human.
Inside a Gate, the smell of human blood meant only one thing:
Run. Immediately.
If an Awakened had been injured, then something strong enough to harm them was nearby.
For someone like Seongjun, who had no combat ability—
Running was the only correct choice.
And yet…
His feet moved in the opposite direction.
Toward the source of the smell.
Why?
Perhaps it was the weight of the magic stones in his pocket.
Perhaps it was the thought—
If today really is my lucky day… maybe I can save someone.
But the deeper he went—
The more he realized how foolish that thought had been.
“What the hell…!”
They weren’t bodies.
They were… scraps of flesh.
Torn apart so violently that the word “corpse” felt inadequate.
Scattered equipment confirmed their identity:
Awakened.
And among them—
Something was crouched.
Back turned.
Chewing.
A creature unlike anything on Earth.
Something alien.
Something wrong.
Seongjun immediately activated a concealment spell and slowly stepped backward.
But at that moment—
The creature turned its head.
Their eyes met.
“Krrh?”
Is it assessing me?
Clutching the magic stones in his pocket, Seongjun ran through every spell he knew.
How do you escape something that effortlessly killed four B-rank Awakened?
Stench. Flash. Explosion. Confuse it—then run.
He prepared to draw mana from the stones.
But then—
He noticed it.
A smile.
Is it… mocking me?
Before he could understand—
Reality twisted.
A violent distortion crushed his senses.
Not the ground—
Space itself warped.
As if something enormous had grabbed his soul and was kneading it like clay.
“Aaaagh!!”
And in the next instant—
He was thrown out of the Gate.
***
“Survivor found!”
“Only witness! Secure him immediately!”
“Damn it, now’s not the time—!”
Through the chaos, Seongjun forced himself to focus.
Ignoring the pain, he raised his head.
The Gate—
It had changed.
No longer its usual color.
Now it pulsed with a dark violet light.
Gate Break…? Now?
That made no sense.
Gate Breaks happened when Gates were neglected.
Not when they had just been cleared.
Then there’s only one possibility…
His master’s warning echoed in his mind.
The day the laws of the world collapse…
The moment humanity is tested…
“D-Day…”
And then—
He saw it.
Above.
Something that should not exist there.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The reinforced glass ceiling shattered.
Shards rained down like a storm.
Steel beams twisted and snapped like noodles.
“Aaaahhh!!”
“Monster!!!”
The amusement park—
A place of joy—
Turned into hell in an instant.
A colossal creature, as large as the park itself, forced its way inside.
What the hell… it’s huge…!
Seongjun froze.
He had seen monsters before.
But nothing—
Nothing like this.
“Aaaahhh!!!”
SPLAT!
The sound of a person bursting under its claw snapped him back to reality.
Without hesitation, Seongjun grabbed a nearby child and ran.
I don’t want to die. Not like this.
Adrenaline surged through him.
He ran with everything he had.
But—
THUD!
“Ghk—!”
“Let me go! My mom—my mom’s over there!!”
Seongjun turned.
And saw—
He couldn’t save her.
Creatures had already grabbed her limbs.
Even without imagination, the outcome was obvious.
But her eyes—
“Please.”
She didn’t want her child to see.
Seongjun covered the child’s eyes.
Blocked their ears.
And ran.
Behind him—
A sound he would never forget echoed.
Don’t look back. Run.
Tears streamed inside the costume.
If I had been a real mage…
“What kind of ‘only mage in the world’ am I…?”
Regret flooded him.
Ten years wasted.
Power he couldn’t use.
Lives he couldn’t save.
And then—
Something blocked his path.
“GROOOOOOAR!!”
A monster.
Not of this world.
If such creatures had always existed—
Humanity would never have survived.
“Listen. See that door? When I say go—run.”
“No! Take me with you!”
“WE’LL BOTH DIE IF YOU DON’T MOVE!!!”
All the guards were dead.
The B-rank Awakened inside the Gate—
Also dead.
He was alone.
The only Awakened left.
If I’m going to die anyway…
At least let me die like a hero.
He gathered all the magic stones he had collected.
It wouldn’t kill the monster.
But it might buy time.
“Let’s do this…!”
Mana surged.
A massive magic circle unfolded.
Six of them.
Brilliant. Overwhelming.
Even inefficient.
“H-Hyung… you’re an Awakened?”
“Just RUN!!!”
The child ran.
Seongjun spread his arms.
“Come at me, you bastard!! I’ll show you the power of magic!!!”
The monster hesitated.
Just for a moment.
Exactly as planned.
It won’t activate… it can’t…
But—
BOOOOOOM!!!
Six blazing fireballs shot out.
Like bullets.
Real.
They pierced the monster.
And continued—
Straight through the colossal giant behind it.
Silence.
“Huh…?”
That’s impossible.
“Why… did it actually fire?”
